I just can't decide on axles. I went and picked up another set, :D. I got a set of toy axles. I like the width compared to the 44's that's for sure. Plus parts for these are a little cheaper. I wouldn't have to flip the t-case, I wouldn't have to narrow them, and everything under the sun is available for them (I.e. no custom rear axle shafts). On the other hand they are still low pinion and I'm not sure how that would affect my rear drive line length.

Question for the Chevy guys. Is the ecm different for the auto and manual trans on these TBI motors? The one that I have is currently hooked to an auto.

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Yeah there different, when I had the auto computer in my blazer the computer would continue to give the motor fuel after I let off to shift. It was doing that to "butter" the shifts for the slush box. Pita yes, but I was still able to drive it and all problems went away with the correct computer.

Good news is that you can get your computer tuned by waitforme performance or others for $150 or so and they can set it up right and make go fast changes too, all with free lifetime updates.

I spent this afternoon tearing apart my 4.3. Everything looks good and rebuildable. I'll take it in to get hottanked and bored .030 over. I found out about Affordable Fuel Injection from dhartman when I picked up my Toy axles. I'll be getting a harness and computer from them when the time comes.

I've also decided for sure to build up the Dana 44's so I'll be high pinion front and rear.

I'm starting to get excited that this thing will finally coming together.

One of my favorites. That one and a few builds on Pirate are what made me decide to get back to this. Mine will be a civilian and won't be green but otherwise I'm going for a similar look. Kinda stockmod-ish but performance that will sneak up on you.

I have said all along that I'm not going to stretch the body. I may be changing my mind on that. I think I'm going to stretch it 1.5" behind the fender, 3" in the door, 3" behind the door, and 1-2" in the rear wheelwell. With the ~1.5" stretch that the highline will give me anyway I'll end up with an extra 10-11" in the body while hopefully keeping it proportional.

Nothing really. I've picked up more parts and tools. I've also been practicing my welding.

Parts:
-Ford T-18
-Jeep T-98
-Ford small block bellhousing with hydraulic clutch
-Scout Dana 300
-37x12.50/15 original MTRS (5 of them, 4 with 1/4 tread for mock up and a fifth with 90% tread for a spare)
-Warn 8274
-4 stock 15x7 toyota rims for mock up (one will eventually be for the spare)
-All my 3 and 4 link brackets from Barnes 4wd during one of their sales

The build is going to be going a little more high end than I had origanally planned. ORI struts will be replacing the coilover or air shocks, this should make packaging everything in the small space I have to work in easier. Those will be ordered as soon as I can get an approximate weight on the whole thing. I'll be building my own body tub. After looking around for a suitable donor and not finding much I decided that I might as well make it what I want. It will not be stretched at all so that I can still use a soft top. I'll be building a 3/4" square tube structure and skinning it in 18ga. This will be the first task and one that I hope to start within a few weeks. Then onto the frame. 2x4 rectangular tube 34" wide in the back and middle and 30" at the front.

I've kind of been working myself up to this point. Some upgrades had to happen on my ZJ's front axle and that took a bit more money than I had originally planned. Look for some regular updates in the near future.

Wadey, no paddles yet, lol. Should be ready for Beer or Ping Pong soon. But as soon as it's built we'll have to move the body structure off to play.

I was thinking the same thing before I happened into the Ford motor. I would have actually prefered the GM powerplant but the parts that I now have make this a bolt together, no (expensive) adapters build. When I was originally looking at that swap I was going to use the SM-420 that I have with a Jeep 300. The current parts that I have will make the drivetrain ~5" shorter than if I'd gone that route. Once you have the T-18 in yours I think you can just get a 2.8 S-10 bellhousing and the GM 3.8 will bolt up.

I was thinking the same thing before I happened into the Ford motor. I would have actually prefered the GM powerplant but the parts that I now have make this a bolt together, no (expensive) adapters build. When I was originally looking at that swap I was going to use the SM-420 that I have with a Jeep 300. The current parts that I have will make the drivetrain ~5" shorter than if I'd gone that route. Once you have the T-18 in yours I think you can just get a 2.8 S-10 bellhousing and the GM 3.8 will bolt up.

I have the bellhousing I need already in the basement. The only problem is the T98 I have likely will be too weak for the s/c 3.8. The T98 I have has the smaller input shaft.